Post date: Feb 11, 2020 12:51:30 PM

Praise for Over 60s

The Over 60s earned fullsome praise from skipper David Heffernan after their impressive 105-96 victory over runaway leaders Lincoln at Exeter Gardens on Thursday.

Said David:" Not only am I delighted with the result, but more than that I was also grateful for the contribution from all our players on all rinks no matter whether they won or lost. They did me and the club credit."

Stamford won two rinks 25-17 and 25-19 and a fine last bowl from Roger Martin made sure he got over the line 19-18.

Richard Mongomery's rink was all square at 19-19 after 20 ends but just missed out.

Equally important was the spirited fightback by the rink led by Trevor Collins.

Trailing 19-5 after 12 ends they upped their levels to win seven of the last nine. Although they lost 17-22 their improvement was crucial in the overall scheme of things.

Rink scores: T Barwell, M Linnell, M Owens, T Collins 17-22; D Heffernan, S Travis, D Miller, T Christie 25-17; D King, D Henshaw, K Vinter, R Montgomery 19-20; R Blake, D Cave, K Rippin, R Martin 19-18; D Hudson, J Bourne, P Burt, C Watson 25-19.

The team play at Louth on Thursday and has a further five games to play after that, three at home.

Their latest victory saw them jump to third in the table with 76 points, 11 behind Scunthorpe who have played two games more. Lincoln have 130 points from ten games.

Mixed hopes rise

Chris Ford's Stamford team boosted their chances of staying in the first division of the Lincs Mixed League when they beat Horncastle 127-67 at home on Sunday.

Said Chris: "It was a terrific win and we have climbed up two places as a result."

The team now has played five matches and gathered 45 points. Below them are Lincoln A with 38 and Horncastle with 40.

In bottom place are Lincoln A (22 from five) who Stamford travel to meet on Feb 22.

The rinks on Sunday were: C Gray, A Sampy, A McNaughton, P Bailey 29-12; M King, J Suffling, S Suffling, D King 29-6; J Brennan, J Lonslow, A Lonslow, J Little 25-15; E Wallace, C Jones, M Smith, S Moir 16-21; T Barwell, V Du'Kett, M Wallace, C Ford 28-13

Adam Warrington was the most successful of a quartet of Stamford bowlers when the county singles were played down to the semi-finals at Grantham on Saturday.

He beat George Draper (Lincoln) in the last 16, 21-15 before losing 21-16 to Spalding's Graham Smith in the quarter-finals.

Two Stamford colleagues, John Holroyd 16-21 against Kevin Ekins (Spalding) and youngster Owen Aspinall 12-21 v Keith Tointon (Boston) went out in the first round, in which Chris Ballard received a walkover.

Ballard then found Richard Ashton Llincoln) a tough opponent in the last 16 and was beaten 21-6.

The semi-finals will be played at Spalding on March 28 when home players Smith and Ekins will play Ashton and Peter Johnson (Scunthorpe) respectively.

After last week’s defeat against Spalding in the annual Silver Salver Challenge, Stamford’s Weekend Friendly team bowled themselves back into winning ways with an impressive 116 - 82 home victory on all six rinks against Huntingdon. Leading the way was Peter Gray’s trio made up of his wife Carolyn and Val White with a convincing 24 shots to 10 win. The other rink wins were: Rosemary Roberts, Roly McHard, Dave Edwards won 23-14; Reg Goode, Ann Preston-Bambridge, Jill Goode won 16-13; Linda Cave, Maggie Holden, Derek Cave won 21-18; Jenny Desborough, Margaret Grainger, Nigel Trigg won 14-13; Joy Winfield, Janet Moore, Ken White won 18-14.

Trudy Bates success

Stamford ladies had their latest Trudy Bates match at Sleaford on Wednesday and came away with a 10-6 win which keeps them in a comfortable mid-table position in the southern division of the Lincs League. The overall score was 108-88 with the biggest rink win going to Denise Mackie's quartet by 30 shots to 10. The other success went to Chris Ford 21-13 while Peggy Birch and Isobel Reading were also very close to success.

Stamford lie third as a result with 59 points from seven games. Boston are top with 83 from eight and Spalding are second with 82 from seven. Each team plays ten matches. The winners of the southern division will play a final against the winners of the northern section, with Lincoln currently in a strong position.

Rink scores: M King, M Andrews, S Suffling, C Ford 21-13; J Lonslow, L Cave, G Edwards, S Moir 21-26; A Sampy, T Handley, R March, D Mackie 30-10; J Brennan, M Holden, V DuKett, P Birch 19-20; J Dye, A Lea, M Broadbelt, I Reading 17-19.

Key games in Div One

Stamford A have a key game on Saturday 15 February in their bid for the Lincs League title when they host Boston (1.10pm) with just three points separating them at the top of the table.

Paul Bailey's team lost their unbeaten record 14-4 at Louth last Saturday when they were forced to play a man short and will be eager to bounce back with a big win.

They are currently on 69 points while Boston have 66 and have played a game more.

Stamford A: P Dalliday, D Miller, J Harford, S Law; D Hudson, M Linnell, J Earl, M Dolby; W Aspinall, G Knights, N Wright, A Warrington; R Allam, M Wallace, M Hunphreys, R Martin; O Aspinall, J Travis-Jenner, P Bailey, T Collins. Reserves: B Acock, S Travis.

Meanwhile the B team will also be at home this weekend, facing Louth on Sunday, 2pm start.

They also need a good performance as they bid to retain their place in division one, while Louth, who have played a game more have a 16-point advantage over them in the table, 57 to 41.

Spalding are currently bottom, on 37 points.

Stamford B: R Blake, J Suffling, M Hewitt, K Vinter; D Edwards, R Graham, D Veasey, A Barnes; D Heffernan, I Hall, D Bruce, K Rippin; P Linnell, C Jones, D Middleton, M Owens; M Smith, J Hare, D Cave, A McNaughton.